jennybaby Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 Well, we're all gearing up for the Olympics and I thought it might be fun to see if there were any books that might get us in the mood. I found some branded 'London 2012' stories for teenagers - but I want a good adult read - any suggestions? The one book that I did find was Dreams of Gold by Jonathan Chamberlain. It seems to have got some good reviews so I'm going to try that. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Quote
Talisman Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 The Road Cycling Races will be going right through our village - in fact, Box Hill where I live, forms more than 50 percent (of the men's at least) route. The Road Races are one of the first events after the opening ceremony, with the mens race on 28th July and the women's on 29th. The men will be doing 9 laps of the village, and the women just 2 - as Editor of the village newsletter I have been forced to make myself involved in the consultation process, which has been lengthy and detailed, and I am actually now, despite the road closures and the fact that most residents don't seem that enamoured with it, really looking forward to the events. My own suggestion then would be Olympic hopeful Mark Cavendish' autobiography Boy Racer. Quote
Easy Reader Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 I read Steve Redgrave's ~ A Golden Age which although wasn't ground breaking was interesting I also tried reading Colin Jackson's autobiography but unfortunately I didn't get very far with that but then I am not a big auto/biography reader anyway Quote
Inver Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 Chariots of Fire ...W J Weatherby maybe.....inspired by Eric Liddell Quote
jennybaby Posted March 16, 2012 Author Posted March 16, 2012 This list seems in danger of petering out! Anyway, to re-invigorate it I'd like to tell you about Jonathan Chamberlain's very funny book Dreams of Gold, which I've just read. This novel tells the story of the various problems faced by a number of athletes - from poverty to politics, sexual harrassment, religious belief and in one case to being a woman in an Islamic country (very on the ball - reference the current issue of whether Saudi Arabia will send any female athletes!). But although this novel touches (very lightly) on these issues this is really a romp - very surreal in places and having some very bizarre characters. I really do recommend it. I notice on Amazon one reviewer commented that it was similar to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett - I don't know about that but it will certainly make you laugh - and there's a very interesting twist at the end which I'm not going to give away. And there must be other books out there relevant to the Olympics? Quote
chesilbeach Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I guess that it would be mainly biographies and autobiographies, and to be honest, I very rarely read them, so I can't think of any books. I love the Olympics but as a spectator sport and not something I'm particularly interested in reading about. Quote
chesilbeach Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 I was delving deep into old threads on the board this morning, and came across this one, which might help provide you some inspiration? http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/466-olympic-challenge-general-thread/ Quote
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